Voters are divided on whether a government shutdown would be a bad thing, and would, by a nearly 10-point margin, consider congressional Republicans more responsible for a shutdown than President Barack Obama.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 46 percent of registered voters surveyed nationally said a shutdown would be a good thing for the country because it would stop the government from racking up more debt, while 44 percent said it would be a bad thing. At the same time, 47 percent of those surveyed said that responsibility for a shutdown would lie on the shoulders of the Republicans in Congress, while 38 percent said they would blame Obama.

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POLITICO 44

Views on both questions broke down largely along party lines. Sixty-three percent of Republicans said a shutdown would be a good thing, and 28 percent said it would be a bad thing. Among Democrats, those numbers are reversed, with 62 percent saying a shutdown would be bad and 28 percent saying it would be good.

Most Republicans – 65 percent – said Obama would be more responsible for a shutdown, while 74 percent of Democrats said they would blame Republicans. Independents also leaned toward blaming the GOP, with 48 percent saying they would blame the Republicans in Congress, 34 percent saying they would blame Obama and 18 percent undecided.

A Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday found similar divisions. Thirty-six percent of those polled for that survey said they would primarily blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown, while 35 percent said they’d blame Obama. Another 17 percent said they would blame both.

Quinnipiac also polled on some of the budget questions that are troubling governments in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states.

Government employees are paid too much, 42 percent of those surveyed said — a response from 59 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats. Six percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Democrats said public workers are paid too little.

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they would support requiring public employees to pay more for their benefits and retirement programs, while 31 percent were opposed to such a proposal. Republicans and independents were stronger in their support of public employees paying more, with 72 percent of GOPers saying they want to see public workers contribute more, while 70 percent of independents said the same. Democrats are more divided – 47 percent said they support public workers paying more for their benefits, while 45 percent said they would oppose such a move.

The voters surveyed were split along party lines in their support of – or opposition to – limiting collective bargaining for public sector unions. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans said they support collective bargaining restrictions, while 33 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of independents said the same.

They were also divided over state politicians’ intentions with their efforts to limit collective bargaining, with 60 percent of Republicans calling it a cost-cutting measure, and 54 percent of Democrats saying it is an effort by Republican politicians to control unions.

The survey was conducted Feb. 21-28 and polled 1,887 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

There is no need for a shutdown. The republicans have submitted a CR (it should have been a budget except democrats are not ready to vote on a full budget) for the senate to pass and the president to sign. This whole budget mess is uncalled for. Had the democrats had passed the budget last August as they should when they controlled both houses of congress and the presidency the nation would not be without a budget now. Then again maybe the nation is better off this way. So the democrats can blame themselves (and so should the voters whether the CR passes or not).

There is no need for a shutdown. The republicans have submitted a CR (it should have been a budget except democrats are not ready to vote on a full budget) for the senate to pass and the president to sign. This whole budget mess is uncalled for. Had the democrats had passed the budget last August as they should when they controlled both houses of congress and the presidency the nation would not be without a budget now. Then again maybe the nation is better off this way. So the democrats can blame themselves (and so should the voters whether the CR passes or not).

We pay our congressional legislators to manage the government and it keep it running. Shutting down the government might save money, but if that is the only way to accomplish this, why have a sitting congress? I am going to put pressure on my republican and democrat legislators to do away with the waste and fraud. All this talk by the dems about how the repubs want to throw granny under the bus is so lame. We waste billions and could probably fund Obamacare with the savings. The good news is this first report only covers 1/3 of the government. No more excuses or the government is going to get a lot more than a shutdown from the taxpayers.

Demorcratic or republican it never fails to amaze me how utterly ignorant people are. It actually costs the government more money in the long run by shutting down.

Don't believe me?

Try not paying your credit cards, bills, and mortage for awhile then start paying again later. You still owe the same amount, but now you owe late fees and interest.

Government is not much different, they still owe all their employees back pay and then overtime pay to catch up late work; not to mention the billions lost in lost productivity with buildings sitting empty, the list can go on and on.

These same Amerians who would welcome a shut down of our Government are not team players, they are loose cannons that would stab their mother in the back. What moral standards are these to live by. You be the judge, let us see what morale standards you have to live by. Money comes and money goes. It is a tool like a fire, it can warm you and make you confortabe or it can burn you up. Which way you use it is a choice. Ask the man in the Glass before you chose.

These same Amerians who would welcome a shut down of our Government are not team players, they are loose cannons that would stab their mother in the back. What moral standards are these to live by. You be the judge, let us see what morale standards you have to live by. Money comes and money goes. It is a tool like a fire, it can warm you and make you confortabe or it can burn you up. Which way you use it is a choice. Ask the man in the Glass before you chose.

Well, the poll is showing that if you feed the public enough nonsense, you get it back when you poll them. Fox News has been telling the people that the government is a bad thing for so long that they have gotten people to believe that it should go away. Never mind that people rely on it for their salaries, health care, home heating, food, etc and could die if it disappeared. Or that its obligations are legal so shutting it down is the equivalent of not paying your bills, not having them go away. Or that 80 years ago we were in the throes of the Great Depression, and congress made exactly the same bad decisions that its making now and cut spending, which caused the Great Depression to last 10 years instead of two.

It's really time to consider shutting Fox down. It's not a news network, it's a political propaganda machine that is committing treason against the US by sowing lies and disinformation that this article shows can have mortal consequences if acted upon. Freedom of the press does not apply to presses that print propaganda paid for by the corporatist elites attempting to institute fascism in the US. Sounds extreme? The historic states we like to think of as fascist consisted of government controlling the people for the benefit of the corporate elite. This is what Fox promotes on a daily basis.

A shutdown would not be a good thing, but part of me wonders if Giving the knee-jerk conservatives what they want for 14 days might not be like the storied 2X4 on the noggin. I'm talking full shutdown, not just the concessions at Yellowstone. No FAA means no flying to Orlando for that theme park vacation, no servers mean no internet or at least major disruptions, no treasury means nothing gets paid (not even Halliburton - gasp), no Medicare and Social Security means a lot of really badly ****ed off old people which would scare the crap out of Newtie. No more shooting at people in the Middle East which could get dicey for the guys who are there.

But we'll walk to the precipice and step back - which is probably as it should be or - it there is a shutdown - it'll be the hot dog stand near Old Faithful.

The GOP that wants to cut spending anywhere where it ain't going to the rich voted yesterday to continue giving BILLIONS of TAXPAYER dollars to the five BIGGEST oil companies in the form of subsidies. You know, the same five companies that posted record profits last year and every year since 2000?

eff yew Republicans. If you vote Republican you should have to wear a bright orange jumpsuit that says, "Stay away from me because I am a total idiot and could do something completely stupid at any moment.

Read and learn, GOP-voting jerks, and then pray to the Jesus you profess to love so much and beg Him to forgive you for doing the exact opposite of what He clearly said to do-

I wonder if when conducting this poll, if the following information was given:

1. A government shutdown does not include congress or those who do all the over-spending.

2. Non-essential personnel does not mean that folks are just on the payroll doing nothing.

The "non-essential" personnel include your normal everyday citizens (just like those who answered the poll) who go to work everyday to make a living.

Why not just raise EVERYONE's taxes instead of forcing a few hard working folks that work for the government to forego a who knows how many days pay? I wonder how the "poll answerers" would feel if their boss came to them and said, "Hey, we blew it, again. We need you to take three to seven or more days off without pay. Sorry." I bet they wouldn't be answering the same way then.

Get a clue folks, don't think for a minute that the people responsible for this over-spending will be "shutting down." This will fall on the little man's shoulders, as usual.

Since our representatives cannot seem to cut more than token debt and wasteful spending it seems starting government over from scratch is better. This is why so many people don't fear government shutting down. Its worst with keeping the present crew running it.